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Ojembe Blessing, PhD Candidate

Blessing is a Commonwealth scholar and a gerontology Social worker whose research focuses on loneliness and the social in(ex)clusion of black older adults (BOAs) in social programs and services in Ontario, with a specific interest in addressing inequities and taken-for-granted assumptions of ageing.
photo of Blessing Ojembe

Blessing Ojembe

PhD Candidate

Graduate Students
Department of Health Aging & Society

Area(s) of Interest:

Biography


Supervisor:  Dr. Lydia Kapiriri

Funding: Commonwealth Shared Scholarship (2014-2017); CommonAge Australia 2018; Ronald Bayne Gerontology Award 2020

Research Interests:  Aging, Loneliness, Social exclusion, Qualitative methods, Social policy, Black Older Adults

Education


PhD (Candidate) in Social Gerontology, McMaster University

MSc in Gerontology, University of Southampton (2017)

BSc in Social Work, University of Nigeria (2010)

Diploma in Social Work, University of Nigeria (2004)

Teaching


TA Experience:

January-April 2020 and January-April 2021

Teaching Assistant, McMaster University
Supervisor:  Dr. Geraldine Voros
HLTH AGE 1AA3: Introduction to Aging & Society

 

September-December 2020

Teaching Assistant, McMaster University
Supervisor:  Dr. Yvonne LeBlanc
HLTH AGE 2B03: Social Identity, Health and Illness

 

January-April 2019 
Teaching Assistant, McMaster University
Supervisor:  Dr. Yvonne LeBlanc
HLTH AGE 1BB3: Introduction to Health & Society

 

 

 

Research


Selected Publications:

Ojembe, B. U., Kalu, M. E., Ezulike, C. D., John, M. O., Oyinlola, O., Osifeso, T. A., ... & Kapiriri, L. (2021). Exploration of Loneliness Among Black Older Adults. Social Science Protocols, 4, 1-11.

Kalu, M. E., Ojembe, B. U., Akinrolie, O., Okoh, A. C., Adandom, I. I., Nwankwo, H. C., ... & Obi, P. C. (2021). Setting priorities for ageing research in Africa: A systematic mapping review of 512 studies from sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Global Health, 11.

Grenier, Amanda and Ojembe, Blessing (2020). Culture, Mental, and Older People. In R. Moodley and E. Lee. The Routledge International Handbook of Race, Culture and Mental Health. Routledge: New York.

Ojembe, B.U. and Kalu, M.E. (2019). Television, Radio and Telephone: Tools for reducing loneliness among older adults in Nigeria. Journal of Gerontechnology, 18(1), pp. 36-46  https://journal.gerontechnology.org/currentIssueContent.aspx?aid=2719

Grenier, A., Griffin, M., Andrews, G., Wilton, R., Burke, E., Ojembe, B., Feldman, B., Papaioannou, A. (2019). Meanings and Feelings of (Im)mobility in Later Life: Case Study Insights from a ‘New Mobilities’ Perspective. Journal of Aging Studies, 51 (2019) 100819. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S089040651930324X

Nwankwo, H. C., Akinrolie, O., Adandom, I., Obi, P. C., Ojembe, B. U., & Kalu, M. E. (2019). The clinical experiences of Nigerian physiotherapists in managing environmental and socioeconomic determinants of mobility for older adults. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 1-13.
 
Ojembe, B.U. & Kalu, M.E. (2018). Describing reasons for loneliness among older people in Nigeria. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 61:6, 640-658. DOI: 10.1080/01634372.2018.1487495


RA Experience:

January 2021
Research Assistant, McMaster University Faculty Association
McMaster University
Supervisor: Dr. Lydia Kapiriri

January-April 2019
Research Assistant, Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging
McMaster University
Supervisor: Dr. Amanda Grenier